RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA : New School Targets Science, Technology

As about 200 people gathered to celebrate the opening of Arroyo Vista Elementary School on Thursday, children in nearby classrooms worked on the “hands-on/minds-on” science and technology projects that mark the school’s main mission.

In Patti Anderson’s fourth-grade class, students created their own mini air pressure labs with small juice cartons and straws to learn about the basic principles of flight, while Lori Anderson’s fifth-graders discovered how to make marble-filled foil boats float in large plastic tubs of water.

“It’s funner than reading it out of the book,” said fifth-grader Kim Schaefer, who was learning about the properties of buoyancy in her class.

Meanwhile in the school’s 15-station computer lab, students worked on their reading and writing skills and played games teaching them about various geographic points in the world.

The state-of-the-art Spanish-styled school, named for its creek-bed view near O’Neill Regional Park, is the first Capistrano Unified School District elementary school in Rancho Santa Margarita, and the first in the district to make science and technology a main focus.

About 600 children from parts of Rancho Santa Margarita, Coto de Caza and Dove Canyon attend the school, which opened Sept. 10.

“When we planned Arroyo Vista, we decided to plan this school around a great focus on science and technology because we think that is the wave of the future,” Supt. James A. Fleming said.

Principal Dick Campbell, who is nationally renowned for having created one of the country’s 10 most innovative science programs, said about 40% of class time will be devoted to hands-on science and technology projects. “We’re going to teach science every day,” he said.

Among those who toured the school during the dedication ceremony Thursday, were Rep. Ron Packard (R-Oceanside), a ranking member of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, and Santa Margarita Co. President Anthony R. Moiso.

“Few things happen that are more important than what happens within the walls of our schools,” Packard said. “I’m particularly pleased to see that (the district has) developed a school that has an emphasis on science and technology.”